My Favourite Reads of 2017 (aka, Your Favourite Reads of 2018??)

I read thirteen books in 2017. Those of you who don't have children, physical ailments, & don't get drowsy by reading, you can just siddown. Thirteen is a book per month + one, which is pretty good for me right now, ehwot.

four books stood out to me, & i want to share them!

THE GIRL WITH SEVEN NAMES by lee hyeon-seo
With the growing interest in South Korea blossoming in the west, a voyeuristic view of North Korea is also opening up. North Korea is basically the Silent Planet of countries, & the world is fascinated by this terrible little backwards oppressed nation & the fate of its people. Oppression and exploitation are everywhere, but perhaps the isolationist mentality of North Korea + its juxtaposition to its insanely-first-world neighbour South Korea, makes this story so much more enthralling as a train-wreck debacle. To whet your appetite for this book, you can also watch Ms. Lee's TEDTalk on Youtube.

HALLUCINATIONS by oliver sacks
Big name, though I'd never heard of him; this psychiatric doctor takes you through many different kinds of "sane" hallucinations. I get the impression that insanity-based hallucinations may not be as common as hallucinations produced by other factors, such as sensory deprivation. Really fascinating read!

PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM by shin kyung-sook
Probably my favourite book of the year, this moving, heart-stopping, at times chilling novel helped me appreciate my own mother even more, & reminded me not to take for granted the sheer amount of love + effort our mothers pour into our lives.

When sixty-nine-year-old So-nyo is separated from her husband among the
crowds of the Seoul subway station, her family begins a desperate search
to find her. Yet as long-held secrets and private sorrows begin to
reveal themselves, they are forced to wonder: how well did they actually
know the woman they called Mom?

Told through the piercing voices and urgent perspectives of a daughter, son, husband, and mother, PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM is at once an authentic picture of contemporary life in Korea and a universal story of family love.

I'm closing out the year with a few books pending; I'll finish them in January, hopefully... If you haven't hear of these four books + they sound interesting to you, consider this your formal introduction! Books are best buddies.